Beyond the reasons above, with respect to a potential personal injury claim in Oregon, specifically—consider Oregon's “seatbelt rule”: Generally speaking, that evidence of one's failure to use a seatbelt may be introduced in later litigation to lessen the damages an injured party is entitled to. This is true, however, for only up to five percent of the damages to which that party would otherwise be entitled. ORS 31.760(1). The five-percent cap, though, does not apply in a personal injury action arising out of a motor vehicle collision where the failure to use a seat belt is a substantial contributing cause of the collision. ORS 31.760(2).

Thus, beyond the statistics supporting the notion that being in a car is dramatically safer when a person is restrained, wearing one's seatbelt is also a way to ensure—in the unfortunate event a person is injured in a motor vehicle collision in Oregon—that the person can collect his or her full damages in the wake of that collision.

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About the Author

Brad Thayer is an associate at the Schauermann Thayer firm. Brad is licensed in both Oregon and Washington. He has been practicing law since 2015. Brad's practice focuses on automobile collision, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian injury, dog bite, and myriad other types of injury and insurance cases. During his free time, Brad enjoys following the Portland Trail Blazers, playing basketball, going to concerts, and playing the drums. He especially enjoys hiking in the Columbia River Gorge and exploring other Northwest wonders.

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